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Salaam Namaste

13 Apr

I love exploring new areas of London. Just when I think I know it all, another beautiful neighbourhood etches a glorious image in my head forever. I was due to visit Salaam Namaste on Friday evening and caught the bus from work before walking through the back streets lined with tall trees, Georgian townhouses and pretty pubs full to the brim with local workers, I guessed lawyers working nearby. Friday evening is one of my favourite evenings to enjoy a meal out. It signals the end to a busy week and gives me the opportunity to wind down and look forward to the weekend whilst enjoying some delicious grub.

I had heard good things about Salaam Namaste. The Guardian gave it 9 out of 10 in a review and it came highly rated from a friend. The restaurant provides guests with a menu from all regions of India and I was intrigued as it was unlike any other Indian restaurant menu I had seen before. The Khasta Murgh – spicy chicken tikka pie with wild berry chutney, quail marinated in mustard and honey and tandoor grilled pepper tomato coulis and pan-seared fresh mackerel in a rich garlic marinade topped with Goan spicy sauce starters caught our eye so we ordered these first and took some more time to ponder the mains. We were treated to a basket of plain and spicy popodoms beforehand, which arrived with the most delicious chutneys and sauces – mango, tomato and mint & yoghurt. We had difficulty choosing from the diverse menu so took the waiters recommendation of Goan style sea-bass cooked with curry leaf, mustard seed and coconut sauce for main and we also chose char grilled chicken with spring onion and tomato sauce, crispy potato fritter, courgette ribbons, pink fir potato, a portion of saag paneer, lemon rice and garlic naan bread.

Out of the three starters that we tried, the chicken tikka pie was my favourite. Spicy, tender chunks of chicken were encased in an open pie with rich and buttery pastry. The quail was tender, pink and juicy but as always when I order quail, the amount of meat frustrated me and it left me wanting more. I was left slightly dumbfounded by the presentation of all starters. Each dish arrived with shaved vegetables and chopped beetroot. I ate it because I like it (and I’ll usually eat everything that’s offered to me) but I couldn’t help but think that it was a pointless garnish. I also couldn’t help but think that this is a different to what was around in 2007 when The Guardian review came out.

The mains arrived and I was pleased to see a different presentation style. The crispy pan fried sea bass was surrounded by a rich tomato based sauce and the chicken sat in a small dish on a plate. We spooned some lemon rice onto our plates and began to eat. We each took a bite of the naan bread and realised that we had been given the wrong one and it wasn’t until we queried it with the waiter that we realised that he had done it on purpose because he wanted us to try their house speciality – date and ginger. I saw this on the menu and on paper it didn’t sound overly appealing to me so I went for the safe option. If Salaam Namaste taught me nothing else on Friday, it taught me that I need to be more adventurous with my decisions and not go for the safe options. This magical date and ginger naan bread lit up my evening. No, it lit up my week, or maybe even my month! My typing has even got faster as I think about it – oh the excitement. Pillowy bread with a sweet date and ginger paste and a thin crusty base. Hands down the naan bread I have ever had.

Another highlight of the evening was the saag paneer. This is another dish that I’ll always order if I see it on a menu and I have seen many different variations. This one was thick and creamy with large chinks of paneer dotted throughout. Once I had tasted the naan and saag paneer, I spent the rest of the meal dunking the naan into the sauce and sort of forgot about the main dishes. I have been toying with the idea of never ordering a fish curry for a while now as I never seem to enjoy it as much as meat. But having had the recommendation I felt I at least had to give it a try. I could appreciate that it was a well executed dish, but it just wasn’t for me.

Neither of us could imagine eating one of the rich desserts so I ordered a mango kulfi to finish the meal nicely. We enjoyed Salaam Namaste and I’d like to take my curry loving dad in the future, if not just to order a portion of the date and garlic naan and a side of saag paneer.

Salaam Namaste
68 Millman St
London
WC1N 3EF
020 7405 3697

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Cinnamon Kitchen

5 Apr

Yesterday someone asked me if I only had the choice being able to eat one cuisine for the rest of my life, what it would be. I retorted saying that the question was completely unfair and unanswerable, despite managing to whittle it down to two. The two? Indian and Italian. You see, I have been a lifelong fan of Italian food. Simple home made pasta with a drizzle of high quality extra virgin olive oil, a splash of lemon, a crack of black pepper, sprinkle of sea salt and shaving of parmesan is one of my ultimate dishes and one that I couldn’t live without. But then there’s Indian – a wafer thin dosa filled with hot and spicy masala potato filling and a creamy dahl are just two dishes of this diverse cuisine that I would never want to say goodbye to.

There are many Italian and Indian restaurants in London, some very good, but most bad. These are two cuisines that have been grabbed hold of, commercialised and in some cases ruined. I can list on one hand the good Italian and Indian restaurants that I have tried but I simply couldn’t remember all of the bad ones that I have been to over the years.

Last week I visited Cinnamon Kitchen in the city, a restaurant that I was previously very aware of by the reputation of sister restaurant, Cinnamon Club in Victoria. Cinnamon Kitchen serves modern Indian cuisine inspired by the same ethos as Cinnamon Club but in a more relaxed setting. When we arrived on a Thursday evening, the local bars were overflowing with city workers enjoying their after work drink.

As we were seated, I was surprised by the size of the tables. Considering this restaurant follows more of a relaxed vibe than Cinnamon Club, a table for two was twice the size of one that I’d usually expect at a casual restaurant. The seats were also twice as comfy!

We chose organic salmon carpaccio, caper ‘kachumbar’ (£8) and seared king scallops and devon crab cake (£12.50) to start, followed by baked sea bream, green spices and yoghurt rice (£16), French black leg chicken and broken wheat ‘kichri’ (£18) with a side of black lentils (£4) and steamed rice (£2.50) for main. We then opted for saffron poached pear with star anise ice cream (£6) and Valrhona dark chocolate souffle with cinnamon cream anglaise and pistachio crisp (£7.50) for dessert.

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But first we were treated to a pre starter. Stupidly, as I was so excited, I failed to write down what it was, so I’m sorry that I can’t share that with you. We also polished off a selection of three breads with chutneys (£5) before our starters arrived.

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The scallop starter was impressive – a delicate mix of spices, rich crab cakes and tender scallops. The salmon carpacchio was less so and was more like a hefty plate of smoked salmon with a few capers dotted around the plate.

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Our black chicken dish was brilliant. Tender chicken breast sat in a well seasoned bowl of spiced broken wheat and flaked almonds. I will forever remember the sea bass dish, not for the piece of fish, but for the unbelievable yoghurt rice and pomegranate that sat on the plate. It was the highlight of my whole evening, partly because it tasted so fantastic, rich and creamy but also because I have never tried anything quite like it before.

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We were struggling to think about dessert before it arrived as we had eaten so much food before hand but we managed it. The poached pear was really nothing special but the accompanying star anise ice cream was. But this dessert was nothing compared to the Valrhona dark chocolate souffle with cinnamon cream anglaise. The souffle was sweet and light and matched perfectly with the rich and creamy cream anglaise.

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Not content with feeding us enough food to last us a good couple of days, we enjoyed a mini coconut friand like cake post dessert. Service was swift, which meant that no longer than an hour and a half after arriving, we were back out of the door, full, satisfied and with a lasting memory.

Food For Think was a guest at Cinnamon Kitchen

Cinnamon Kitchen
9 Devonshire Square
London
EC2M 4YL
020 7626 5000

Cinnamon Kitchen on Urbanspoon

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Malabar Junction

27 Feb

Four years ago, I found it hard to even sit next to someone that was eating a curry. After a bad experience when I was ten (I’ll spare you the details), I thought my curry days were firmly behind me. But around four years ago I found myself with a boyfriend who adored the stuff. But it wasn’t just him, it was his family too. Not long after we met, I moved into his family home and was surrounded by it too much for my liking. When we had a night off cooking, I would sit with my lemon chicken from the local Chinese restaurant while they would gorge on dosas and Karahi chicken and lamb chops.

‘Come on Sarah, you have GOT to try this’ shouted my boyfriend’s dad one evening. And that was it, the whole family taunted me and I felt like I was a small child in a playground getting bullied to eat a cockroach off the floor. My boyfriend put the fork up to my mouth and I begrudgingly opened, eyes closed, and chewed. I can’t remember my exact reaction but it had the whole family laughing. After one mouthful, I have quite literally never looked back. The curry in question was from a local Wembley restaurant called Karahi King where my boyfriend’s family has been going for over 20 years. I can’t tell you how glad I am that that forkful of tender, spicy, saucy chicken dish was forced fed to me that evening. It opened up my eyes to pretty much anything and taught me not to be so narrow minded when it comes to food.

We’re lucky to live in an area of London with a large Indian community so we’re spoilt for choice with good Indian restaurants (that don’t serve dishes like the chicken tikka passanda that I ate when I was ten). But I’ve often found it hard to locate a Central London restaurant that serves food as tasty that is also reasonably priced.

I was invited to try Malabar Junction, initially to use as the Indian entry for mine and Jacks Eat the Olympics challenge. But as we want to use our local for that, I thought I’d write it up for you lot.

Malabar Junction resides on Great Russell Street, just away from the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road. I walked in to find Jack waiting for me in the sitting room at the entrance of the restaurant, flicking through a copy of Spice magazine, which was sat on a coffee table full of Indian food magazines. It took him a while to notice I had arrived (too engrossed in the magazine) but once he did, he jumped up and we were shown to our table at the back of the restaurant. We sat in large wicker chairs padded with comfortable cushions and looked out over the whole restaurant.

The menu provided a wide range of options, from dosas to Biryani and Tandoor specials. We shared a couple of starters, chilli paneer (£7.50) and a Malabar masala dosa (£8.50) before sharing tadka dal (£6.50) and kerela mutton curry (£10.95) with a side of plain basmati rice (£2.50). I opted for the semiya payasam (£3.75) for dessert, while Jack went for the unadventurous option with two scoops of Belgian chocolate Haagen Daaz £2.75).

Anticipation of the dosa was high. Another local of ours, Chenai Dosa, serves huge dosa pancakes with a delicious potato filling and unlimited sauces for around £3! The dosa at Malabar was slightly more expensive but that is to be expected when you’re in Central London. Still, the prices definitely don’t break the bank. It arrived, smaller but more perfectly formed than our usual with three sauces – chilli, sambar and coconut. We tucked in with our knife and forks (something we rarely do at our local as they believe the food tastes better when eaten with your hands) and thoroughly enjoyed it. The potato was soft and fresh with the perfect amount of spice. The sambar was thick and chunky, the coconut sauce creamy.

The chilli paneer was an utter delight. Soft cubes of paneer sat in a spicy chilli sauce and crunchy vegetables – the perfect way to awaken the taste buds. There definitely could have been a few more chunks on the plate though!

Our squeaky clean plates were politely taken away to make room for our mains. They arrived and the colours were fantastic – two curries sat in front of us, one bright yellow and the other deep red. The tadka dal was creamy with a hint of spice from the fresh chilli garnish. The mutton was tender with the most fantastic accompanying spiced tomato sauce. The bread basket that we chose to accompany the dishes (£6) contained paratha, chapatti, and poori, which were all delicious, except for the slight mishap with the paratha – it didn’t hold together very well and we had to dip small strips into the curry when we would have preferred to rip off a huge hunk for dipping. It didn’t take us long to polish everything off and as soon as we had wiped the remnants of each dish with the last of our breads from the basket, the polite and friendly waiter was quick to clear our plates, but not before commenting on the distinct lack of any trace that there had in fact been a pile of food on each plate.

Our dessert orders were taken and delivered promptly. We knew what to expect from the Haagen Daaz but the semita payasam was a new adventure and one that upon first glance didn’t look too appetising. The bad thoughts were soon diminished as I took the first mouthful of creamy vermicelli, which had been cooked in cardamom flavoured milk and dotted with raisins and cashews. This was a great dessert, not too heavy and the perfect way to satisfy the sweet craving at the end of the meal.

After dinner, we walked out of the restaurant, happy in the knowledge that we might just have found the Central London curry house that we have long been searching for.

Malabar Junction
107 Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3NA

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Tamarai, Drury Lane

23 Jan

When War Horse first opened at the New London theatre, I was desperate to go. But for some reason or other I never made it. Fast forward almost three years and I had almost forgotten that the production was still running. That was until last week when I visited a Tamarai restaurant a few doors down on Drury Lane. Feeling slightly envious as I walked past the crowd of theatre goers, I walked into Tamarai and down the stairs into the dimly lit restaurant where my friend was waiting for me at the table, fanning herself manically. For a mid January evening, it was mild outside and rather hot inside.

I was at Tamarai to try out the £15 for three courses set menu. Usually when I see such an offer, I recoil and attempt to avoid at all costs but after some hardcore investigation (ten minutes on google), I was convinced to try it. So I did. And it was really rather good.

The waiters are the shy but efficient and extremely pleasant kind and were over straight away to take our orders. First thing was first, a cocktail. We both chose the Citrus Fling (£9), a fruity and sweet muddle of lemongrass vodka, lime, green tea cordial and cherry liquor. To our delight, they arrived ice cold and very alcoholic, whilst being almost too easy to sip back. You know, the kind that makes your ears feel hot after a couple of sips.

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For starter, I chose the Chettinad fish 65 with tomato pickle mayo and my friend the steamed chicken dim sum. I was very tempted by the Duke of Berkshire pork belly for main but was slightly sceptical as it wasn’t the most authentic sounding dish, considering we were dining in a pan Asian restaurant, so instead I chose the Thai green chicken curry. My friend went for the black tiger prawns, a dish that I avoid like the plague after seeing my boyfriend with food poisoning after eating tiger prawns a few years ago.

The starters were small but very enjoyable. My South Indian Chettinad style fish had a subtle spice, the batter crispy and not too oily. My friends dumplings were also delicious and upon first bite, I was transported straight back to Hong Kong where I had fresh delicious Dim Sum a plenty back in October.

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The mains arrived, each with a small bowl of steamed Jasmine rice. The Thai green curry was very creamy with just the right amount of spice. The chicken was tender and I polished the whole lot off pretty quickly. The prawns, I am told, were very good. The portion was small but I was glad. The amount of times I have left a restaurant after eating three large courses and feeling ill for the rest of the evening are countless.

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For dessert, both of us ordered sticky toffee pudding with galangal glaze and banana ice cream. Again, the portion was small but it was just enough to satisfy my post dinner sweet tooth. I couldn’t detect any banana in the ice cream, which was a shame, but the pudding itself was sticky and sweet – just perfect.

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Tamarai is an interesting establishment. The décor is dark and glitzy and we both agreed that we felt like we had been transported back to a the 90s, or that we were extras in an episode of Sex and the City. I was half expecting to see young girls with sky scraper heels and impossibly short skirts grinding to 50 Cent on the roped off dancefloor in the corner. But instead what I saw were couples of similar ages and a couple of large groups, all quietly enjoying their dinner. Perhaps the short skirts make an appearance late night.

I’m not saying that this was the best pan Asian food that I have ever eaten, because it wasn’t. And I probably wouldn’t go back for a full priced meal, but I’ll say it again, the three course meal for £15 is very good value.

Food For Think was a guest at Tamarai.

167 Drury Lane
London
WC2B 5PG
020 7831 9399
Tamarai on Urbanspoon

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East India butter shortbread with clotted cream

30 Aug

I really wish I could have a butter and clotted cream shortbread with my tea now. But I can’t because I ate them all.

I was sent a packet of Butter Shortbread with Clotted Cream by the East India Company a couple of weeks ago and as soon as I opened the packet and started munching on the biscuits, I knew I was in trouble. I adore shortbread but even more so when it contains clotted cream. Unfortunately, I have a REAL taste for anything creamy and buttery.

The biscuits are pale in colour and slightly chewy. At first the texture reminded me of biscuits that have just started to go stale but I realised quite quickly that the clotted cream makes them chewier than usual. Apparently they were a favourite of Queen Victoria and go great with afternoon tea. I wouldn’t know if they do because I ate them all before I even had a chance to think about afternoon tea.

The packet that they come in is pretty too and I would definitely not shove it to the back of the biscuit cupboard. The plate design, according to the small print on the back, is typical of 18th Century art and craft influences. It’s delicate and ornate and I really like it.

The company also has a fascinating history. I had a great insight into this when I read Kavey’s blog recently.

At £5.25 for 150g packet, they’re a little bit on the expensive side. And although they probably wouldn’t be a permanent fixture in my biscuit tin, I’d sure buy a few and get them out along with my best tea set for special guests.

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Vintage at Southbank Centre

12 Jul

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Let me set the scene. My boyfriends family are huge advocates of vintage, whether that be music, fashion, design or films. I met my boyfriend in a field at Bestival in 2007 and I remember thinking that it was cool that his dad and little brother (who was 10 at the time) came for a couple of days. We went back to Bestival for the next couple of years and as we started to see the changes, the way that it was expanding so fast, we decided to give it a miss the following year.

It was the same year that my boyfriends parents had an idea. To encompass everything that they are passionate about and hold their very own festival. A relationship with Goodwood was established and the date was set – August 13th – 15th 2010. See my post on the event last year here.

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Anyone that went last year will know how fantastic it was. A high street in a field, post war silver service in The Torch Club, the BEST club venue in the form of The Warehouse and an array of live music to knock the socks off any other live music festival. It wasn’t an event just focusing on music, the weekend played host to the biggest vintage market in the world, a cinema curated by Stephen Woolley, live catwalk shows and lots more.

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This year, they have decided to link with the Southbank Centre and the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain celebrations. Can you think a more perfect fit? From 29th – 31st July, the Royal Festival Hall will be set dressed as you have never seen it before. Its six levels will be transformed into a multi-venue playground where, over 13 hours each day (from 12pm to 1am), pass holders can learn the dances of the decades, take in over 70 live performances, boogie along to the tunes of 150 DJs, enjoy exclusive catwalk shows and decade specific make-overs, sample Vintage food and cocktails, shop at one of world’s most exciting Vintage marketplaces, and get style hunted as Vintage at Southbank Centre calls out for people to glam up.

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And I’m here to tell you about the food aspect, of course. Ticket holders can immerse themselves in the tastes of days gone by with food to fit the music and fashion, and historically linked eating opportunities, not to mention some fantastic period cocktails from the bars. Take for example the North South Divide Pub where Northerners can treat themselves to beef stew and a pint of ale, while Southerners can enjoy pea soup and a glass of Pimms before taking part in outrageous games and sing-along in the specially created boozer. Sneak a ‘Bootleg’ cocktail in the hidden Shhh! 1920s Prohibition club… Be sure not to tell anyone though! Take a break from the afternoon tea dance to sip on a Gin Martini in The Torch club, or kick back and relax with an ‘Alabama Sidecar’ amidst a soundtrack of Tiki and Exotica in the Leisure Lounge. As nightfall descends it’s to time to hit the Style Studio dance floor… But there’s always time for a ‘Cosmo’ before the disco dancing commences. In The Warehouse its paper cups and lager from the tin served from a bar made of pallets; truly authentic. There will be themed and dare we say it, nostalgic nibbles in abundance – think Cheesy Wotsits, Skips and Pork Scratchings (those were the days). For a more substantial feed, head up to the Penthouse terrace where you will find bangers, baps and plenty of ketchup at the Great British summer BBQ.

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Skylon will also be getting involved in the Vintage fun. For the Vintage weekend only, the restaurant will be serving a specially created afternoon tea with Vintage inspired cocktails such as ‘Old Fashioned’ and ‘Colony’. Diners can listen to 1920s and 1930s live music and 78s on old Gramophones while they dine at dimly lamp lit tables. I cannot wait to bask in elegance as I sip my martini and nibble on dainty cakes.

If the food offering inside isn’t enough, all 19 restaurants that surround the Royal Festival Hall will be participating. Sip a ‘Papa Dobles’ Daiquiri, which was Ernest Hemingway’s usual tipple in Cuba at Las Iguanas (ticket holders can enjoy 2 for 1 cocktails), a ‘Vintage Bombay Punch’ at the Dishoom Chowpatty Beach Café or maybe you will opt for a 70s soul BBQ at Feng Sushi on the Festival Terrace. The kids can join in too at Yo Sushi, who will be holding hour-long Mini Ninja classes to teach children how to make sushi. 1950s British diner come posh transport caff, Canteen will be serving their renowned range of classic British dishes such as sausages and mash with onion gravy, fish and chips and Scotch eggs. Also on the menu will be a range of pies with seasonal ingredients, encased in delicious buttery pastry. But don’t forget to leave room to delve into a nostalgic British dessert. Options include a decadent treacle tart with clotted cream, crumble with custard, or homemade jelly and ice cream!

I’m writing this to get the food aspect of Vintage out there. Vintage is just as much about the food experience as the music, fashion etc… and I’d LOVE to see some of you there.

Head to www.vintageatsouthbankcentre.co.uk or www.vintagebyhemingway.co.uk for further information and tickets, priced at £60 per day.

Ticket holders can book meals at Skylon by emailing skylonreservations@danddlondon.com

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Mooli’s summer menu

16 May

Mooli’s opened nearly two years ago on Frith Street in Soho, one of London’s busiest restaurant areas. Born out of a passion and a pining for good Indian street food, founders Sam and Mathew traveled around India for months for recipe inspiration.

I live in an area with a large Indian community and while fantastic authentic food is plentiful at cheap restaurants nearby, I have noticed that these are somewhat lacking in Central London. The only other good value (and by this I mean cheap) Indian restaurant (apart from Mooli’s) that I could recommend is Dishoom, who, by the way, has a pop up restaurant on the Southbank this summer.

However, Mooli’s isn’t your typical curry house. They serve a range of Indian wraps, which they call Mooli’s. Also on the menu are a fantastic range of side dishes, plus delicious lassi. They even have an alcohol license so you can enjoy a nice cold bottle of beer or a crisp glass of wine with your dinner, or lunch if you like that kind of thing. All food is freshly made on site – even the bread in a machine that they call their ‘Moolita’, which is basically a roti making machine. It is fired up every morning to create fresh, delicious roti breads that do not contain any nasties.

I have dined at Mooli’s many times and recommended it to many friends but last week I was invited to try their new menu, which was created to reflect the recent spate of sunshine that we have been having and celebrate the warm (hopefully) months ahead.

It’s a good job that I turned up hungry. I was greeted by Mathew who told me that he wanted me to try everything. So I sat down on my own and was stared at by the lunch customers behind me queuing to get their lunch time fix. On my tray was a mini pork Mooli (this is not new but is my favourite so Mathew threw one into the mix), a new chicken Mooli, a superfood salad, cool cucumber Raita, a superfood salad and a rose and cinnamon lassi.

The new chicken Mooli was delicious. The chicken is cooked with herby and aromatic fenugreek leaves and lentils. I particularly enjoted the crunchy pickled turnips. All of this is joined by a tangy and cooling yoghurt raita. This is replacement for the old chicken Mooli and although I never tried to old one, I’m hoping this one is around to stay.

I was also lucky enough to get a portion of the aloo papdi chaat, which isn’t usually available until after 3pm. I love potato curries so this dish went down very well, even more so because it contained chick peas. This is a slight change from their old potato and chick pea side and is topped off with crisp papdi and ruby red pomegranate seeds.

Also on the side was the cooling cucumber raita. Now, I don’t think that any of Mooli’s dishes are too spicy so I didn’t exactly NEED the raita. But want and need are two different things and I definitely wanted it. Cucumber is one of my favourite foods (I have taken a stick and peeled it with a knife in my hand to eat it as a snack for as long as I can remember) and teamed with yoghurt makes for a cooling, refreshing side dish.

The rose and cinnamon lassi was utterly delicious. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t finish it off due to the amount of food on my tray. I am not one to EVER leave food on my plate so was disappointed when I took my last mouthful – the food had defeated me.

I love this place. It has great food at fantastic prices, a good array of music blares out and every customer looks as though they are thoroughly enjoying what they are putting in their mouths.

Mooli’s
50 Frith Street
London
W1D 4SQ

Mooli's on Urbanspoon

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Chennai Dosa

7 Feb

This post is so so so long overdue. There are two Indian restaurants in Wembley that I just LOVE and literally couldn’t live without. The first is Karahi King, which is more expensive than Chennai Dosa (although still cheap!) and it has been open for over 20 years. My boyfriends parents started going when their Red or Dead offices were in a warehouse nearby over 20 years ago.

My absolute adoration for curry started around 3 years ago when I was re-introduced to it by my boyfriend and his family of curry lovers but there’ll be more on that story another time.

We’ll head to Chennai Dosa around about once every fortnight for a quick, simple and CHEAP meal. It is South Indian cuisine and within a year of opening their first branch in Manor Park, they became the largest suppliers of Dosa’s in Europe!

For those of you who don’t know what a Dosa is, it is a savoury Indian pancake made from rice batter and black lentils. I’m told that it is traditionally eaten for breakfast or dinner but I have only ever eaten one for dinner.

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I always order the Chicken Masala Dosa, which is £3.85 – let me just tell you that this alone would be enough for dinner but we’ll always get sides too as they are so good. The Dosa comes with your filling of choice plus curried potato and a range of sambar and chutneys (my favourite being a coconut one). There are extra chutneys and sambar so that you can refill if you run out. This is an no extra charge.

We also always order a side of Channa Batura, which is a dish of curried chick peas with puffed bread. It is simply delicious and my mouth is watering just thinking about it while writing this post! This costs around £2 and is enough to share as the bread is large!

The bill usually comes to around £11, which for a meal out for 2 people is absolutely fantastic. They don’t serve alcohol so don’t go expecting a drink or two.

There are also branches in Manor Park, West Ham and East Croydon, Tooting Bec, Reading and Birmingham. If you live remotely near any of them, I suggest you go and check out the magic for yourself.

529 High Road
Wembley
Middlesex HA0 2DH
T: +44 (0)20 8782

Chennai Dosa Pure Vegetarian on Urbanspoon

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Split Red Dal, Chicken with Fenugreek leaves, Chapati and Paneer in Tomato Sauce Recipes

1 Feb

Curry curry curry. If you would have asked me a year ago what my favourite food was, I would have said pizza. I know what you’re thinking – everyone else used to think it to. And although I still love the humble crispy tomato and cheesy feast, curry has since fast taken over the top spot.

I live in a predominantly Indian area of London and because of this, the high street is rich with Indian supermarkets, fashion stores and cutlery shops. Rather than take our usual Sunday trip to Waitrose last weekend, we decided to head to Ealing Road and indluge in some Indian cooking.

I bought the India Cook Book when it came out and it has been sitting on the shelf for quite a while so I decided it was time to put it to use. There are 1000 recipes in the book but we whittled it down to 4. We chose Tamatar Chaaman (Paneer in Thick Tomato Sauce), Methi Murg (Chicken with Fenugreek Leaves), Masoor Dal (Split Red Dal) and Chapaati.

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Unfortunately we couldn’t get all of the spices, Asefotida being one of them but with a little research when we got home, I saw that Matthew Fort has listed a couple of places to buy it from on The Guardian website. I’ll have to place an online order for next time. Asefotida crops up in a lot of the recipes in The India Cook Book so it is definitely worth purchasing it. I think it’s a rather pungent spice as apparently you need to keep it in an airtight container – but when it’s cooked, the flavour mellows.

We were cooking for a few hours and we served the food in the brand new Indian dishes that we had bought – I think that it looked fantastic but the taste didn’t live up to expectations. I was half expecing the dishes to be similar to my favourite Indian restaurant Karahi King but really, who was I kidding?! It was my first time cooking a curry and that restaurant has been in business for YEARS! I’m not giving up though and next week I’ll be trying some other recipes.

Chapaati – we adapted this recipe and used Spelt Flour instead of Wholemeal Flour

Ingredients

400g Spelt Flour
Pinch of salt
Melted Ghee (or butter) for brushing

Method

1. Sift flour and salt into a bowl
2. Add 250ml water and start mixing until a soft dough is formed
3. Divide the dough into pieces and roll into balls. Flatten into balls
4. Roll each ball out on a floured surface
5. Heat a pan and fry each bread separately, turning over half way through. The dough is cooked when brown patches form on the surface

Masoor Dal – We didn’t have coriander so this recipe has been adapted

Ingredients

250g red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ghee or vegetable oil
4 dried red chillies
1/2 tsp ajwain seeds, ground
4 green chillies
pinch of salt

Method

1. Put 1.2 litres water in a pan and add the dal and turmeric
2. Bring the water to the boil and remove scum from the surface with a slotted spoon
3. Reduce the heat, season with salt and simmer for20 minutes, or until the dal is soft
4. Heat the ghee or oil in a grying pan
5. Add the dried red chillies and ground ajwain seeds and stir fry for about 2 minutes
6. Pour over the dal and simmer for about 2 minutes
7. Add the green chillies before serving

Methi Murg – We adapted this recipe quite a lot – we roasted the chicken before hand and we didn’t have a few of the spices. Funnily though, this dish turned out to be the tastiest!

Ingredients

1/4 roasted chicken
2 large cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
3 green chillies
50ml vegetable oil
2 tbsp greek yoghurt
1/2 tsp ground caraway seeds
125g fenugreek leaves
juice of 1 lime
pinch of salt

Method

1. Roast the chicken and leave to rest for 10 minutes before slicing what you need for the dish. We used 1/4 of the chicken
2. Heat vegetable oil in a pan and add all of the dry spices. Fry for 2 minutes
3. Add the fenugreek leaves and fry for 3-4 minutes
4. Add the chicken and simmer until the leaves are fragrent
5. Add the yoghurt and then squeeze the lime juice into the pan

Tamatar Chaaman – I had to adapt this recipe as I didn’t have a few of the ingredients. I found that I needed to decant a lot of the oil before serving

Ingredients

250ml vegetable oil
500g paneer
5 cloves
5 green cardamom pods
2 cinnamon sticks
750g pureed tomatoes
2 tsp ground fennel
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
pinch of salt

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan
2. Add the paneer and fry for about 5 minutes or until golden brown
3. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel
4. Add the whole spices to the pan and stir fry for a minute, or until they change colour
5. Add the pureed tomatoes and cook for about 10 minutes, or until all of the liquid has evaporated
Pour in 250ml of hot water along with the ground spices and season with salt
7. Bring to the boil and add the paneer
8. Reduce the heat and cook for 5 minutes

It was a proper feast and the dishes were tasty. I was surprised that the Dal didn’t contain any ginger or garlic and I will change this next time. I think I’ll also take away one of the Cinnamon Sticks in the Paneer too as the Cinnamon taste was just a tad overpowering.

We served all of the dishes with the Chapati and Brown Rice.

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Beef and spinach curry with spring onion cakes

10 Oct

My new thing is cookbooks. I’m a 23 year old girl and I’d rather sit at home reading a good cookbook and cook a delicious meal than go out clubbing. Am I old before me years?!

I don’t care – I’ve had my fair share of ‘fun’ over the years and now I just love devouring a delectable book page by page, picking out recipes that I want to recreate.

Kitchen Garden Companion

So I was a VERY happy bunny when Stephanie Alexander’s ‘Kitchen Garden Companion’ landed on my doormat. I do have a garden, although it doesn’t get much sunlight. In fact, it pretty much doesn’t get ANY sunlight due to the massive (albeit beautiful) trees surrounding. The best I have is a (sort of) ‘roof terrace’. What I really mean when I say ‘roof terrace’ is a flat gravelled roof that we occasionally use for sunbathing in the summer.

We are just in the process of refurbing an old bedroom and making it into a kitchen and the ‘roof terrace’ is accessible through that kitchen widow. So next summer I plan to do some good potting. Until then I will continue to buy my veg from my local supermarket.

The book lists a large number of fruit and vegetables in alphabetical order and there are detailed instructions on how to get the best out of them when growing. Each veg also comes with at least one recipe.

Last weekend, while my boyfriend was engrossed in the Ryder Cup, I plonked myself down next to him on the sofa and read every single page bookmarking every recipe that I wanted to try.

So when the decision of what to cook came around, we opened the book to a random bookmarked page. ‘Tony Tan’s Beef and Spinach Curry’ looked out at us and that was that. Now, what to go with it? The next random choice was rather fitting, ‘Spring Onion Cakes’.

The photography in the book makes you want to engross yourself in it for hours – it’s sharp, bright and beautiful, i’ve never seen so many handsom vegetables!

The Spring Onion fish cakes were pretty fiddly and they took a long time to prepare. There was a lot of short bursts and then leaving for 30 mins, not long enough to do much so they require your presence in the kitchen for a good 2 hours. Nonetheless they were extremely tasty and had a lovely crunch.

The curry recipe started off by telling me to stick the onion, ginger and garlic in a food processor. Having never done this before with onion, I was slightly surprised to see the bright purple paste. It did match my purple cooking pot though!

These are fantastic lazy Sunday recipes and you’ll have enough for left overs for lunch the next day.

IMG_3553

Tony Tan’s Beef and Spinach Curry

Ingredients

50g tamarind pulp (I used tamarind paste)
60ml boiling water
2 onions, roughly chopped
1 x 6cm long piece ginger, roughly chopped
80ml peanut oil
1 cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods, lightly bruised
1 1/2 tbsp ground corriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1.5kg beef oyster blade, cut into 3cm pieces
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
500ml water
1 tsp salt
250g spinach, washed
basmati rice and spring onion cakes to serve

Method

1. Make tamarind water using tamarind and the boiling water. Process onion, ginger and garlic in a food processor to form a paste.
2. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C
3. Heat peanut oil in a 4 litre enamelled cast-iron casserole over a medium heat and fry onion paste, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
4. Stir in corriander, cumin, chilli and tamarind water and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add meat and stir, turning to coat with spice mixture. Tip in tomato, tomato paste, water and salt. Stir again.
6. Cover and bring to simmering point over medium heat, then transfer to oven and cook for 3 hours. At the end of this time the meat will be tender.
7. Leave to stand, and skim off and discard any exess oil that has risen to the surface.
8. Meanwhile, fold each spinach leaf along stem-line with rough side uppermost, then pull stem up and along the leaf. The stem end and central stem will come away leaving two pieces of leaf. Wash leaves well.
9. Ten minutes before serving, place curry over low heat to reheat, then drop in spinach leaves, season to taste with salt and serve with basmati rice and spring onion cakes

IMG_3557

Spring Onion Cakes

Ingredients

125g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
20g lard
100ml water
1 tsp sesame oil, plus extra for brushing
peanut oil, for shallow frying
Spring onion filling

1tsp salted black beans
1cm long piece of ginger
3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped

Method

1. Sift flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
2. Melt lard in the water in a small saucepan over medium heat, then tip into flour.
3. Mix with a wooden spoon until flour is incorporated. As soon as you can touch the dough, knead it for 1 minute or until smooth, then return it to the bowl and cover with a damp muslin cloth or tea towel. Leave for 30 minutes.
4. To make the spring onion filling, put black beans into a small bowl and crush with the back of a teaspoon
5. Finely chop black beans on a chopping board with ginger.
6. Return to bowl and stir in spring onion, then set aside.
7. Take the ball of dough and roll it into a fat sausage shape, then cut the roll into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into small ball and dust with extra flour.
8. Roll each ball into a thin 12cm round with a rolling pin. Repeat with the remaining balls.
9. Brush each round very lightly with sesame oil.
10. Scatter filling over dough rounds, dividing it evenly. Using your fingers, roll each circle up like a fat cigar to enclose filling. Slightly flatten each ‘cigar’ and then roll it into a snail shape. Pinch ends firmly.
11. Lay rolled ‘snails’ on a baking tray and cover with a slightly damp tea towel. Leave for 30 minutes.
12. Lightly dust ‘snails’ with flour. Flatten each one gently with your hand and roll out to a thin 10cm round with a rolling pin. Leave for 30 mintues.
13. Preheat oven to 100 degrees C and put a paper towel-lined ovenproof plate inside to warm.
14. Pour oil into a medium sized non stick frying pan or wok to a depth of 1cm in the centre and heat over a high heat. Add sesame oil.
15. When hot, put as many pancakes as will fit in a single layer. They should bubble and blister after about 1 minute.
16. Turn to cook other side, then drain on paper-towel lined plate in oven. Serve warm.

Kitchen Garden Companion
Quadrille, £30

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